#16 Denis Grachev put forth a heck of an effort against Lucian Bute (#4 at 168). In truth, he fought a whole heck of a lot better than he did in his crowning victory over Ismayl Sillakh, in which he got the stoppage after being dominated for much of the fight. He was in the fight every step of the way with Bute. While Bute appeared to be the much sharper puncher, Grachev was able to impose his physical strength and keep Bute backing up for the vast majority of the fight. I had it 116-112, with a possible margin of 2 rounds in either direction. All of the judges did a good job and had it within that range.

In the co-feature of the same Montreal card, two fringe contenders whose careers had been flagging lately met, giving one a chance to get back on the right track. The combatants? 40-year-old Renan St. Juste and once-hyped prospect Allan Green. Both men are fairly recent former super middleweights- St. Juste in his last fight, Green most recently 2 years ago. Green put on a gutsy performance, getting dropped and badly hurt in round 4, but bouncing back to win every other round in a competitive fight. The unfortunate backstory, however, was that Green badly missed weight (the fight was contracted for the 175 pound limit), and payed for the privilege of weighing in at 178 3/4. This may have helped him bust St. Juste up to the tune of a 7th round stoppage by the doctor, and also may have helped him avoid being hurt worse by St. Juste’s power punching. As a result, he gets no credit here, as these rankings don’t encompass cruiserweights who beat light heavyweights.

Weight is also a factor in deciding how to treat the main event. Incredibly, Grachev came in at just 168.5 pounds, while Bute scaled 169. I can’t see giving Bute full-fledged credit for beating a guy who was practically a super middleweight after presumably draining significantly, especially giving the fairly close margin. But at the same time, he did technically beat a ranked light heavyweight at light heavyweight, so it’s got to count for something. In particular, it’s only fair that he be rated ahead of wherever Grachev ends up. Furthermore, Grachev probably shouldn’t drop too far precisely because of the disadvantages he faced from the contract weight. The situation is fairly similar to that under which Kessler moved up to face Green, except that Green was a bit bigger, and Grachev a bit better in terms of the rankings. But then again, Kessler won by early KO, while Bute won by close decision. When all is said and done, Bute slips into the rankings in Grachev’s former position of #16, causing Grachev and everyone rated below him last week to backtrack one spot. Grachev’s prior victim, Ismayl Sillakh, exits after 94 consecutive weeks.

Dan’s Top 20 (weeks in current position-weeks in top 10 (if applicable)-weeks in top 20)Champ: Andre Ward (9-9-9)Last Fight: 9/8/2012- TKO10 Champ Chad Dawson (at SMW)Next Fight: UnknownWard and Pavlik’s promoters have both confirmed that talks are underway for a February 23 fight on HBO.1) Chad Dawson (9-336-336)Last Fight: 9/8/2012- L(TKO10) vs. SMW Champ Andre Ward (at SMW)
Next Fight: UnknownRumors of a Dawson-Pascal rematch are now floating around.2) Bernard Hopkins (9-335-335)Last Fight: 4/28/2012- L(MD12) vs. #2 Chad Dawson
Next Fight: UnknownHopkins is currently non-committal on whether or not he’ll fight again.3) Jean Pascal (9-177-177)
Last Fight: 5/21/2011- L(UD12) vs. #1 Bernard Hopkins
Next Fight: 12/14/2012- vs. Aleksy KuziemskiPascal will come back in December following his long inactivity and hand injury (thus retaining his ranking), with venue and TV problems ensuring that the Cloud fight could not be rescheduled until 2013. His opponent will be Polish gatekeeper Aleksy Kuziemski.4) Gabriel Campillo (9-124-124)
Last Fight: 2/18/2012- L*(UD12) vs. #3 Tavoris Cloud (Robbery)
Next Fight: UnknownIt now looks likely that Campillo will reschedule his fight with hot prospect Sergei Kovalev, from which he withdrew with injury this summer. It looks like the fight will be the main event of a NBC Sports card from Bethlehem Pennsylvania on January 19.5) Tavoris Cloud (9-167-167)
Last Fight: 2/18/2012- UD12* vs. #4 Gabriel Campillo (Robbery)
Next Fight: 11/24/2012- vs. #9 Karo MuratThe Cloud-Murat fight has been shifted back a week, but it will still rather inexplicably take place in Venezuela.6) Cornelius White (9-17-47)Last Fight: 7/14/2012- UD12 #10 Dmitri SukhotskiNext Fight: UnknownWhite is on a tear. Is he really top-5 good? I wouldn’t think so, but he proves me wrong every time I feel I might be overrating him.7) Nathan Cleverly (9-144-144)
Last Fight: 2/25/2012- UD12 Tommy Karpency (UNR)
Next Fight: 11/10/2012- vs. Shawn Hawk (UNR)Cleverly’s replacement opponent for his Showtime Extreme debut is actually a bit more proven than ill-fated original choice Ryan Coyne. It’ll be proud Native American and South Dakota prospect Shawn Hawk.8) Tony Bellew (17-56-56)Last Fight: 9/8/2012- TKO9 Edison Miranda (UNR)Next Fight: 11/17/2012- vs. Roberto Feliciano Bolonti (UNR)Bellew now has an opponent for his appearance on the Froch-Mack undercard: Argentine Champion Roberto Feliciano Bolonti.9) Karo Murat (9-58-79)Last Fight: 6/2/2012- TKO7 Sandro Siproshvili (UNR)Next Fight: 11/24/2012- vs. #5 Tavoris CloudSee Cloud’s notes, above.10) Beibut Shumenov (9-120-124)Last Fight: 6/2/2012- UD12 Enrique Ornelas (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown11) Yusaf Mack (9-124)
Last Fight: 7/7/2012- UD6 Sabou Ballogou (UNR)
Next Fight: 11/17/2012- vs. #1 SMW Carl Froch (at SMW)In a fairly sudden development, Mack will drop back down to 168 to fight Carl Froch.12) Isaac Chilemba (9-40)Last Fight: 9/29/2012- UD8 Rayco Saunders (UNR)Next Fight: UnknownChilemba came in a bit heavy, but performed as expected, shutting out journeyman Rayco Saunders.13) Vyacheslav Uzelkoff (9-40)Last Fight: 7/21/2012- W(MD12) vs. Mohamed Belkacem (UNR)Next Fight: Unknown14) Andrzej Fonfara (9-17)Last Fight: 7/13/2012- UD10* SMW #16 Glen JohnsonNext Fight: 11/16/2012- vs. Tommy Karpency (UNR)Fonfara will fight journeyman Tommy Karpency in Chicago in mid-November.15) Jürgen Brähmer (9-29)Last Fight: 4/21/2012- UD10 Vikapita Meroro (UNR)Next Fight: UnknownHere we go again! An announced Braehmer bout will not go forward as planned. At least this time there was some notice. No word on why the Gutknecht fight was scuttled.16) Lucian Bute (1-1)Last Fight: 11/3/2012- UD12 #16 Denis GrachevNext Fight: Unknown Date- vs. SMW #1 Carl Froch (at SMW)Bute barely beat Grachev, and even more barely did so at light heavyweight, but I’ve still got to rate him. He’ll now fight a rematch with Froch in March or April.17) Denis Grachev (1-28)Last Fight: 11/3/2012- L(UD12) vs. SMW #4 Lucian ButeNext Fight: UnknownGrachev put forth a valiant effort against a heavy favorite in Bute, even after presumably draining almost all the way to 168. As a result, his ranking remains mostly intact.18) Dmitri Sukhotski (1-106)Last Fight: 7/14/2012- L(UD12) vs. #16 Cornelius WhiteNext Fight: UnknownThe White loss must be a bitter disappointment for Sukhotski, who had been in line for a shot at an alphabet strap held by Cleverly for some time, but with Cleverly blatantly ducking him to great effect.19) Mikkel Kessler (1-25)Last Fight: 5/19/2012- TKO4 Allan Green (UNR)Next Fight: 12/8/2012- vs. Brian Magee (UNR) (at SMW)Kessler will fight Irish fringe contender Brian Magee on December 8 in Denmark. The fight will be at 168 it would seem.20) Tony Averlant (1-32)Last Fight: 3/31/2012- L*(SD12) vs. #12 Eduard Gutknecht (Robbery)Next Fight: 11/9/2012- vs. Lubo Hantak (UNR)Averlant is scheduled to return against a truly awful Slovakian opponent this weekend.

The Week Ahead: Two mentionable fights on Friday and another four on Saturday, amounting to one of the busiest weeks of the year for any division.

Friday: #20 Tony Averlant fights arguably one of the worst light heavyweights in the world, Slovakia’s Lubo Hantak, in France. In a much more interesting fight in Liverpool, gatekeepers Ovill McKenzie (originally of Jamaica) and Welshman and former top Cruiserweight contender Enzo Maccarinelli do battle in an attempt to halt a negative trend in one of their careers. The loser is likely done as anything but an opponent.

Saturday: #7 Nathan Cleverly of Wales ventures to the US for the second time and faces South Dakota prospect Shawn Hawk on the Showtime Extreme-televised undercard of Mares-Moreno.

Another notable Brit, Danny McIntosh, is scheduled to return in his hometown of Norwich against an unnamed opponent. McIntosh has been out of the ring since he was roughed up by Tony Bellew back in April.

Undefeated South African prospect Ryno Liebenberg will fight Zambian journeyman Donald Kampamba on the Oosthuizen-headlined card in Kempton Park, South Africa for what is being billed as a minor alphabet African title fight.

Finally, fringe contender Nadjib Mohammedi of France will see action in his back yard against low-level Russian journeyman Sergei Beloshapkin (who I have referred to in the past as “Shapkin the Napkin,” due to his tendency to fall apart when hit by contenders like Gabriel Campillo and probably Mohammedi.

8-0 Colombian (I mistakenly called him a Cuban last week) Eleider Alvarez defeated 23-1 South Dakota prospect Shawn Hawk in Montreal on Friday via what appears to have been a solid 12-round decision. Alvarez is now in the top 25, but falls short of a ranking here.

#17 Zsolt Erdei- who still kinda has a claim to a lineal title- is removed for over a year of inactivity. This allows Danny McIntosh to re-enter at #20 after 6 weeks out.

Dan’s Top 20Champ: Chad Dawson (7-315-315)Last Fight: 4/28/2012- W (MD12) Champ Bernard Hopkins
Next Fight: 9/8/2012- vs. SMW Champ Andre Ward (at SMW)Wow- it really is happening! Dawson will reportedly drop down to 168 to challenge Andre Ward for the World Championship at Super Middle. For my money, it will also be an opportunity for Ward to capture Dawson’s light heavyweight title. He’s fighting the 175 champion under the 175 limit. I’m not sure this scenario has ever played out in the history of boxing…and it’s pretty exciting- even if the fight itself may not be.1) Bernard Hopkins (7-314-314)Last Fight: 4/28/2012- L(MD12) vs. #2 Chad Dawson
Next Fight: UnknownI’m not sure what he thinks he can or still wants to prove, but 47-year-old Hopkins has shrugged off retirement talk and there is talk of a potential fight with Nathan Cleverly.2) Jean Pascal (7-156-156)
Last Fight: 5/21/2011- L(UD12) vs. #1 Bernard Hopkins
Next Fight: 8/11/2012- vs. #4 Tavoris CloudShowtime has kindly provided the date of August 11 for the Pascal-Cloud tilt. That’s more than 14-months since Pascal’s last fight…just sayin’.3) Gabriel Campillo (17-103-103)
Last Fight: 2/18/2012- L*(UD12) vs. #3 Tavoris Cloud (Robbery)
Next Fight: UnknownWith Cloud apparently sidestepping not only Campillo, but also a mandatory with Karo Murat in favor of an even better match with Pascal, I wonder if Campillo might get the rematch with Murat, instead.4) Tavoris Cloud (17-146-146)
Last Fight: 2/18/2012- UD12* vs. #4 Gabriel Campillo (Robbery)
Next Fight: 8/11/2012- vs. #2 Jean PascalIt appeared certain that Cloud would fight Murat next, but now he’s fighting Pascal instead.5) Nathan Cleverly (35-123-123)
Last Fight: 2/25/2012- UD12 Tommy Karpency (UNR)
Next Fight: UnknownOriginally scheduled to fight the underwhelming Robin Krasniqi, a virus scuttled that fight for him. Not that anyone’s complaining. Barring a rescheduling, which would be problematic from the WBO’s perspective, Cleverly may be looking toward his mandatory with Sukhotski next, though there’s some talk of a Hopkins fight, as well.6) Karo Murat (37-37-58)Last Fight: 6/2/2012- TKO7 Sandro Siproshvili (UNR)Next Fight: Unknown7) Tony Bellew (35-35-35)Last Fight: 4/27/2012- TKO5 #20 Danny McIntoshNext Fight: UnknownBellew has at least rhetorically severed ties with promoter Frank Warren and is reportedly in the running for a July 7 fight on Sky Sports. Warren is threatening legal action over the split and the potential fight, however.8) Beibut Shumenov (19-99-103)Last Fight: 6/2/2012- UD12 Enrique Ornelas (UNR)
Next Fight: UnknownAfter embarrassing both Enrique Ornelas and himself (merely for taking the fight), Shumenov has already been approached for fights with Hopkins, Cleverly, and Kessler. That being the case, he won’t have much of an excuse left if he ends up fighting his 4th consecutive journeyman.9) Yusaf Mack (19-67-103)
Last Fight: 4/27/2012- UD12 Omar Sheika (UNR)
Next Fight: UnknownMack called out Cloud and Dawson after beating Sheika. Sure, he’s a top 10 fighter, but that still feels like a stretch for him.10) Dmitri Sukhotski (19-19-85)Last Fight: 10/8/2011- TKO2 Nadjib Mohammedi (UNR)Next Fight: UnknownThe WBO originally demanded that Cleverly fight Sukhotski rather than the mediocre Krasniqi, but then backed down and gave Cleverly an extra 4 months to take the fight. Now that Cleverly got sick and cancelled on Krasniqi, surely this fight will have to happen now…11) Isaac Chilemba (19-19)Last Fight: 2/3/2012- UD10 #16 Edison MirandaNext Fight: UnknownChilemba, a former super middleweight, now has the highest ranking of his career at either weight after beating fringe contender Miranda.12) Vyacheslav Uzelkov (11-19)Last Fight: 5/12/2012- UD8 Ravshanbek Jabbarov (UNR)Next Fight: 7/21/2012- vs. Unknown OpponentUzelkov is now scheduled for a fight in mid-July in Odessa, Ukraine.13) Jürgen Brähmer (8-8)Last Fight: 4/21/2012- UD10 Vikapita Meroro (UNR)Next Fight: UnknownBraehmer has showed up for his last two fights, which at least feels like a record for him. 14) Denis Grachev (7-7)Last Fight: 4/27/2012- TKO8 #15 Ismayl SillakhNext Fight: UnknownYes, it was a flukey win, and it’s clear from his performance on its face that, at least at this point, he’s not this good. But honestly the result in black and white could have supported a rating as high as around #10. Common sense can only demote a guy so far (in conjunction with relative inexperience) when his actual resume calls out for a decent ranking.15) Mikkel Kessler (3-4)Last Fight: 5/19/2012- TKO4 Allan Green (UNR)Next Fight: UnknownA Froch fight in the fall now looks extremely likely, at 168.16) Cornelius White (3-26)Last Fight: 5/12/2012- KO2 Anthony Bowman (UNR)Next Fight: UnknownWhite, who was blown out in one round by prospect Don George at super middleweight early in 2011, may be a fluke. But at least for one night, he looked a lot better against former top amateur Yordanis Despaigne than did established fringe contender Edison Miranda.17) Tony Averlant (1-11)Last Fight: 3/31/2012- L*(SD12) vs. #12 Eduard Gutknecht (Robbery)Next Fight: UnknownAverlant is probably closer to the journeyman he was on 3/30 than the solid fringe contender he became on 3/31, but a win is a win…even when it’s a loss (in Germany).18) Ismayl Sillakh (1-74)Last Fight: 4/27/2012- L(TKO8) vs. Denis Grachev (UNR)Next Fight: UnknownI didn’t see that coming at all. I trust Sillakh will bounce back from the upset loss to Grachev. But wow.19) Eduard Gutknecht (1-3)Last Fight: 3/31/2012- W*(SD12) vs. Tony Averlant (UNR) (Robbery)Next Fight: Unknown20) Danny McIntosh (1-1)Last Fight: 4/27/2012- L(TKO5) vs. #7 Tony BellewNext Fight: Unknown

Russian prospect Sergei Kovalev saw action on Friday for the first time since opponent Roman Simakov suffered fatal brain injuries in their December bout, mercifully stopping power-punching journeyman Darnell Boone much earlier- by 5th round TKO- in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on Friday.

On Saturday, #6 Karo Murat took care of late replacement Sandro Siproshvili in a 7th round TKO in Herning, Denmark. Finally, #8 Beibut Shumenov had an easy night in another embarrassingly easy “title defense,” dominating a very passive Enrique Ornelas to a 12-round shutout in Vegas.

None of these fighters was in tough enough to affect their rankings.

Dan’s Top 20Champ: Chad Dawson (6-314-314)Last Fight: 4/28/2012- W (MD12) Champ Bernard Hopkins
Next Fight: 9/8/2012- vs. SMW Champ Andre Ward (at SMW)Wow- it really is happening! Dawson will reportedly drop down to 168 to challenge Andre Ward for the World Championship at Super Middle. For my money, it will also be an opportunity for Ward to capture Dawson’s light heavyweight title. He’s fighting the 175 champion under the 175 limit. I’m not sure this scenario has ever played out in the history of boxing…and it’s pretty exciting- even if the fight itself may not be.1) Bernard Hopkins (6-313-313)Last Fight: 4/28/2012- L(MD12) vs. #2 Chad Dawson
Next Fight: UnknownI’m not sure what he thinks he can or still wants to prove, but 47-year-old Hopkins has shrugged off retirement talk and there is talk of a potential fight with Nathan Cleverly.2) Jean Pascal (6-155-155)
Last Fight: 5/21/2011- L(UD12) vs. #1 Bernard Hopkins
Next Fight: 8/11/2012- vs. #4 Tavoris CloudShowtime has kindly provided the date of August 11 for the Pascal-Cloud tilt. That’s more than 14-months since Pascal’s last fight…just sayin’.3) Gabriel Campillo (16-102-102)
Last Fight: 2/18/2012- L*(UD12) vs. #3 Tavoris Cloud (Robbery)
Next Fight: UnknownWith Cloud apparently sidestepping not only Campillo, but also a mandatory with Karo Murat in favor of an even better match with Pascal, I wonder if Campillo might get the rematch with Murat, instead.4) Tavoris Cloud (16-145-145)
Last Fight: 2/18/2012- UD12* vs. #4 Gabriel Campillo (Robbery)
Next Fight: 8/11/2012- vs. #2 Jean PascalIt appeared certain that Cloud would fight Murat next, but now he’s fighting Pascal instead.5) Nathan Cleverly (34-122-122)
Last Fight: 2/25/2012- UD12 Tommy Karpency (UNR)
Next Fight: UnknownOriginally scheduled to fight the underwhelming Robin Krasniqi, a virus scuttled that fight for him. Not that anyone’s complaining. Barring a rescheduling, which would be problematic from the WBO’s perspective, Cleverly may be looking toward his mandatory with Sukhotski next, though there’s some talk of a Hopkins fight, as well.6) Karo Murat (36-36-57)Last Fight: 6/2/2012- TKO7 Sandro Siproshvili (UNR)Next Fight: UnknownAfter his hopes for a Cloud fight were dashed, Murat will settle for a short-notice stay-busy fight with Cuban prospect Miguel Velozo.7) Tony Bellew (34-34-34)Last Fight: 4/27/2012- TKO5 #20 Danny McIntoshNext Fight: UnknownBellew has at least rhetorically severed ties with promoter Frank Warren and is reportedly in the running for a July 7 fight on Sky Sports. Warren is threatening legal action over the split and the potential fight, however.8) Beibut Shumenov (18-98-102)Last Fight: 6/2/2012- UD12 Enrique Ornelas (UNR)
Next Fight: UnknownAfter embarrassing both Enrique Ornelas and himself (merely for taking the fight), Shumenov has already been approached for fights with Hopkins, Cleverly, and Kessler. That being the case, he won’t have much of an excuse left if he ends up fighting his 4th consecutive journeyman.9) Yusaf Mack (18-66-102)
Last Fight: 4/27/2012- UD12 Omar Sheika (UNR)
Next Fight: UnknownMack called out Cloud and Dawson after beating Sheika. Sure, he’s a top 10 fighter, but that still feels like a stretch for him.10) Dmitri Sukhotski (18-18-84)Last Fight: 10/8/2011- TKO2 Nadjib Mohammedi (UNR)Next Fight: UnknownThe WBO originally demanded that Cleverly fight Sukhotski rather than the mediocre Krasniqi, but then backed down and gave Cleverly an extra 4 months to take the fight. Now that Cleverly got sick and cancelled on Krasniqi, surely this fight will have to happen now…11) Isaac Chilemba (18-18)Last Fight: 2/3/2012- UD10 #16 Edison MirandaNext Fight: UnknownChilemba, a former super middleweight, now has the highest ranking of his career at either weight after beating fringe contender Miranda.12) Vyacheslav Uzelkov (10-18)Last Fight: 5/12/2012- UD8 Ravshanbek Jabbarov (UNR)Next Fight: 7/21/2012- vs. Unknown OpponentUzelkov is now scheduled for a fight in mid-July in Odessa, Ukraine.13) Jürgen Brähmer (7-7)Last Fight: 4/21/2012- UD10 Vikapita Meroro (UNR)Next Fight: UnknownBraehmer has showed up for his last two fights, which at least feels like a record for him. 14) Denis Grachev (6-6)Last Fight: 4/27/2012- TKO8 #15 Ismayl SillakhNext Fight: UnknownYes, it was a flukey win, and it’s clear from his performance on its face that, at least at this point, he’s not this good. But honestly the result in black and white could have supported a rating as high as around #10. Common sense can only demote a guy so far (in conjunction with relative inexperience) when his actual resume calls out for a decent ranking.15) Mikkel Kessler (2-3)Last Fight: 5/19/2012- TKO4 Allan Green (UNR)Next Fight: UnknownA Froch fight in the fall now looks extremely likely, at 168.16) Cornelius White (2-25)Last Fight: 5/12/2012- KO2 Anthony Bowman (UNR)Next Fight: UnknownWhite, who was blown out in one round by prospect Don George at super middleweight early in 2011, may be a fluke. But at least for one night, he looked a lot better against former top amateur Yordanis Despaigne than did established fringe contender Edison Miranda.17) Zsolt Erdei (2-81)Last Fight: 6/4/2011- KO6 Byron Mitchell (UNR)Next Fight: UnknownErdei will be subject to removal when I perform the June 11-17 update if he doesn’t schedule a fight before that. He has run into some hard luck with injury and Showtime’s budget, but he’s had time to find something when neither were a factor. And his level of competition over the years doesn’t call for much sympathy.18) Tony Averlant (2-10)Last Fight: 3/31/2012- L*(SD12) vs. #12 Eduard Gutknecht (Robbery)Next Fight: UnknownAverlant is probably closer to the journeyman he was on 3/30 than the solid fringe contender he became on 3/31, but a win is a win…even when it’s a loss (in Germany).19) Ismayl Sillakh (2-73)Last Fight: 4/27/2012- L(TKO8) vs. Denis Grachev (UNR)Next Fight: UnknownI didn’t see that coming at all. I trust Sillakh will bounce back from the upset loss to Grachev. But wow.20) Eduard Gutknecht (2-2)Last Fight: 3/31/2012- W*(SD12) vs. Tony Averlant (UNR) (Robbery)Next Fight: Unknown

The Week Ahead: A really nice battle of prospects dominates the division this week from Montreal. 8-0 Cuban Eleider Alvarez takes on 23-1 South Dakotan Shawn Hawk. Both guys are in the top 50, and the winner may very well crack at least the top 25.

Thursday night in Idaho, one-loss prospect Shawn Hawk won a split decision over gatekeeper Otis Griffin. It wasn’t a robbery, but what it was was both a very close fight and example of poor judging all-around. Don’t get me wrong- it was a split decision kind of fight. There were a lot of close rounds. I scored the fight 96-93 Griffin, but don’t think anything between 96-93 Hawk and 97-92 Griffin would have been totally out of line. Unfortunately for the judges, each of them had the fight even wider than that for their respective favorite. I mean it’s hard for me to be too upset when I think a SD win for Hawk is a reasonable result, but I am still a bit upset because although in this case a poor job by 3 judges yielded a satisfactory result, if we overlook this, then we don’t really have the same moral standing to complain when the same judges do terribly in a more uniform fashion. Tom Scher and Ray Kerwick both went for Hawk by a 97-92 margin. Gus Hernandez had a respectable 4-point margin in favor of Griffin, but got to that point by apparently awarding 3 10-10 rounds to arrive at his 98-94 card, although it could be that he awarded 2 even rounds and did not give Griffin an extra point for a knockdown he scored in round 7. I’m not sure which I would disagree with more. Even rounds are a cardinal sin among American boxing judges, and Hernandez ought to know that. If he can’t pull the trigger on a round 3 times in a 10-round fight, he ought to give back 30% of his paycheck, because he wasn’t doing what he was paid to do.

In an even worse scoring debacle in Connecticut, Will Rosinsky came up on the short end of the scorecards against Edwin Rodriguez. As hyperbolic as it sounds, it now seems pretty possible that Rodriguez’ team pays off officials. There is really no other way to explain the atrocities we’re getting used to seeing when he fights. To recap: early in the year on Friday Night Fights, Aaron Pryor Jr appeared to win a close decision against Rodriguez, but all cards had Rodriguez comfortably head, including Richard Green, who gave Rodriguez at least one round that was won by Pryor without serious doubt. Referee Sam Burgos also took a completely unwarranted point from Pryor in the fight. Then last Friday, Will Rosinsky gave Rodriguez all he could handle and appeared to me to deserve a narrow win in a fight that admittedly had a lot of close rounds. But Rosinsky clearly won at least 2 of those rounds. The judges? 100-90, across the board, all for Rodriguez. Why they even bothered to show up at ringside is beyond me. They could have mailed in their scorecards a week in advance. I can’t even give these guys enough credit to assume they’re incompetent in this case. I can’t imagine the incompetence being this uniform. It’s hard for me to imagine all the judges agreeing on the same incompetent scores without some kind of monetary inducement being involved. So if, unlike them, you’re actually keeping score, here are the names: Clark Sammartino, Glen Feldman, and Peter Hary. There should be an investigation.

Dyah Davis was in action on the Rodriguez-Rosinsky non-televised undercard, in just a 6-rounder. Davis is prone to controversial scoring, but apparently managed to avoid that this time- if only narrowly. Fighting quality journeyman Darnell Boone, Davis scored a unanimous decision, though the cards were not as convincing as one might have liked. He lost a round on one card and two on the other two. Still, it’s not the worst indictment of Davis, since Adonis Stevenson is still considered a top prospect after being knocked out by Boone last year.

While interesting, none of these fights will affect the rankings this week.

What a waste of Pay per View money! Bernard Hopkins’ first defense of his most recent Light Heavyweight Title reign was a abortive mess, as he climbed onto a dipping Chad Dawson’s back following a missed punch late in the 2nd round, and was thrown off to the effect of an apparently dislocated shoulder, effectively ending the fight. But that’s not where the outrage ended. Referee Pat Russell, who I can only presume believed Hopkins was faking, declared the fight a TKO- ruling in effect that throwing Hopkins to the ground did not constitute even an accidental foul by Dawson. But I don’t deal in such nonsense on this site. Rest assured that the fight is a no contest and will be treated as such here. I suspect and hope that the California Commission will come to the same conclusion when they meet in December, as well. Hopkins remains the Champion. Unfortunately, Dawson stated emphatically (in a state of anger and a mistaken belief that he was now the Champion) that he wants Pascal next.

In other news, #4 Nathan Cleverly had all he could handle in bitter rival Tony Bellew. I watched the fight on Youtube- slight blurriness and all. Based on what I saw, however, the draw that one judge had for Cleverly seemed like a best-case scenario among legitimate outcomes. The other cards seemed incredible to me, on which Cleverly won 117-112 and 116-113. Obviously British judges lack the hesitancy to award even rounds that is hammered into their American counterparts. This appears to be a “Champion’s Decision” to me, although again- only based on a YouTube viewing. Nevertheless, I’m going to treat this fight as a draw. Even if I was off by a round or two to the detriment of Cleverly, I still think a draw would be as good a result as any other. By the way, the fight was a pretty good scrap, regardless of who did or didn’t win.

Hopkins and Dawson both retain their current positions in the rankings after what amounted to a non-event. Tony Bellew, who had been rated a few months ago, storms back into the rankings on the strength of…a loss…but a loss that should have probably been a win or at least a draw. He debuts at #7, just behind Karo Murat who actually did score an official draw against Gabriel Campillo a couple weeks ago. Cleverly again swaps places with Campillo, whom he replaced at #4 after the Murat draw. Bellew’s return to the rankings forces down everyone rated #7 and below last week, including Dmitri Sukhotski (#10 last week)- who exits the top 10 after a 21-week run- and Marcus Johnson (#20 last week) who exits the rankings after stringing together 10 consecutive weeks since his return following Glen Johnson’s ouster.

Dan’s Top 20Champ: Bernard Hopkins (22-280-280)
Last Fight: 10/15/2011- NC* vs. #2 Chad Dawson
Next Fight: UnknownWith any luck, the California Commission will agree with me that his “loss” to Dawson was a no contest all the way. There’s no way anybody but Hopkins is the Champion right now.1) Jean Pascal (22-122-122)
Last Fight: 5/21/2011- L(UD12) vs. #1 Bernard Hopkins
Next Fight: UnknownDawson wants Pascal, but a Dawson-Hopkins rematch may supersede that before it’s all said and done.2) Chad Dawson (44-281-281)
Last Fight: 10/15/2011- NC* vs. Champ Bernard Hopkins
Next Fight: UnknownDawson has got to be frustrated that he finally got a fight with Hopkins only to see it end the way it did. If he thinks he’s the Champ, though, he’s deluding himself.3) Tavoris Cloud (44-112-112)
Last Fight: 6/25/2011- TKO8 #8 Yusaf Mack
Next Fight: UnknownCloud was deep in discussions for an excellent fight with Pascal, but they failed.4) Gabriel Campillo (1-69-69)
Last Fight: 10/1/2011- Draw (SD12) vs. #14 Karo Murat
Next Fight: UnknownCampillo had my sympathy after being robbed against Shumenov, but hasn’t helped his case with a long stretch of inactivity against good fighters followed by a back-and-forth draw with Murat.5) Nathan Cleverly (1-89-89)
Last Fight: 10/15/2011- W*(MD12) vs. Tony Bellew (UNR)
Next Fight: UnknownI personally think even a draw was pretty generous in his fight with Bellew. The majority decision win was way out of line, in my opinion.6) Karo Murat (3-3-24)Last Fight: 10/1/2011- Draw (SD12) vs. #4 Gabriel CampilloNext Fight: UnknownI never thought this would happen, but I now rate the long-overrated Murat even higher than does Ring Magazine.7) Tony Bellew (1-1-1)Last Fight: 10/15/2011- L*(MD12) vs. #4 Nathan CleverlyNext Fight: UnknownDeserved better than a majority decision loss against Cleverly. I thought he won the fight or deserved, at worst, a draw.8) Eduard Gutknecht (1-24-24)Last Fight: 7/16/2011- UD12 Lorenzo Di Giacomo (UNR)Next Fight: UnknownHo-hum victory over Di Giacomo. Hopefully he steps back up soon.9) Beibut Shumenov (1-65-69)Last Fight: 7/29/2011- TKO9 Danny Santiago (UNR)
Next Fight: Unknown10) Yusaf Mack (1-33-69)
Last Fight: 6/25/2011- L(TKO8) vs. #3 Tavoris Cloud
Next Fight: UnknownMack looks a little too small to compete with the top guys at this weight, but still has a good enough resume to avoid dropping too far.11) Dmitri Sukhotski (1-51)Last Fight: 10/8/2011- TKO2 Nadjib Mohammedi (UNR)Next Fight: Unknown12) Adrian Diaconu (1-232)
Last Fight: 5/21/2011- L(UD12) vs. #2 Chad Dawson
Next Fight: UnknownA quality fighter, Diaconu is nevertheless slipping in the rankings simply because he never wins against anyone above the journeyman level. He ought to try and find some kind of mid-range fringe contender just to get a decent win, because fighting journeymen or top contenders isn’t working out for him.13) Ismayl Sillakh (1-40)Last Fight: 5/21/2011- TKO3 Hamza Wandera (UNR) (as CW)Next Fight: 11/4/2011- vs. Unknown OpponentSillakh is slated to fight in Moscow on November 4, opponent to be announced.14) Zsolt Erdei (1-48)Last Fight: 6/4/2011- KO6 Byron Mitchell (UNR)Next Fight: UnknownThere is some buzz at present about a potential fight with Pascal.15) Danny McIntosh (1-69)
Last Fight: 5/7/2011- L(TKO8) vs. Eduard Gutknecht (UNR)
Next Fight: UnknownSignificantly diminished by his loss to Gutknecht, but still has a better win in Thierry Karl than the two guys rated immediately below him: Karo Murat and…well…Thierry Karl.16) Yordanis Despaigne (1-12)Last Fight: 7/29/2011- W(DQ5) vs. Edison Miranda (UNR)Next Fight: UnknownThere was talk immediately after the Miranda fight of a rematch taking place, but no new news on that.17) Jesus Gonzales (1-15)Last Fight: 7/8/2011- UD12 Francisco Sierra (UNR)Next Fight: UnknownHis present and future are probably both at 168, but he beat a good enough light heavyweight to earn this ranking, nevertheless.18) Thierry Karl (1-69)Last Fight: 1/22/2011- L (TKO11) vs. #17 Danny McIntosh
Next Fight: UnknownWill probably see a long layoff and a few tune-ups after being stopped by McIntosh. Karl might be done as a major contender.19) Luis Garcia (1-40)Last Fight: 11/6/2010- TKO2 Byron Mitchell (UNR)Next Fight: Unknown20) Dyah Davis (1-30)Last Fight: 4/8/2011- UD10* Marcus Johnson (UNR)Next Fight: UnknownPulled off a bit of an upset in beating hot prospect Marcus Johnson on ShoBox. Seems to be a magnet for controversial scoring, though, as he’s now been on both the good and bad side of at least debatable scorecards in his last two fights.

The Week Ahead: Gatekeeper Otis Griffin and one-loss prospect Shawn Hawk square off in Idaho on Thursday. Undefeated (with a little help against Aaron Pryor from the ref and judges) prospect Edwin Rodriguez- probably a super middleweight in reality- takes on fellow undefeated Will Rosinsky on ShoBox the following night in Connecticut. #20 Dyah Davis will fight journeyman/gatekeeper Darnell Boone on the non-televised undercard, but it’s not clear if it’s at 175 or 168. Boone’s overall record isn’t that great, but he does own a stoppage victory over very solid prospect Adonis Stevenson last year.